Russian scientists have discovered plant materials that could be used as a basis for developing a new drug to treat brain infections caused by a tick-borne virus.
Maxim Khasnatinov, chief researcher at the Russian Scientific Center for Family Health in the city of Irkutsk, said that as part of “the studies we conducted to develop new chemical drugs to treat encephalitis caused by a tick-borne virus, we were able to discover substances in the Terminalia chebula plant, which is used in medicine.” Popular in Asia”, it has been shown that these substances have anti-viral capabilities, and that they may become the basis for developing new drugs for brain and meningitis inflammatory diseases.
Khasnatinov continued, “We have registered a patent related to this discovery, and we plan to conduct pre-clinical trials on new medicines made from the materials we discovered,” noting that the only medicine currently available for tick-borne encephalitis is donated immunoglobulin, but this treatment has Side effects: It can only be stored at temperatures ranging from 4 to 8 degrees Celsius.
The Russian Vesti website quoted the Epidemiological Surveillance Department in the city of Irkutsk as confirming that during the current year, approximately 15.4 thousand people requested medical assistance after being exposed to tick bites, an increase of 22% over last year.